Getting started on Facebook

by Curt Mercadante

The following post is taken from our new, free booklet, The Press Release is Dead: Using New Communications Tools to Build your Business, Non-Profit or Campaign.

If, by now, you haven’t figured out that Facebook isn’t just for kids — it’s time to get with the program.

As of February 4, 2010, Facebook currently had 400 million users. To put that in perspective, if Facebook was a country, it would be the third-largest country on earth.

And it’s growing — fast.

Facebook is a great way to keep a core group of opt-in subscribers updated and active.

So how do you get started?

• If you don’t already have one, sign up for a personal Facebook account. Facebook will lead you through the set up process, and you’ll start building your personal Facebook network in no time. You’ll be surprised how many of your friends, family and colleagues already have accounts.
• We recommend taking a few weeks to get comfortable with Facebook through your personal account. Observe how other people and businesses are engaging. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with Facebook and gained a comfort level, you can move on to starting a Fan Page for your business or organization.
• Go to http://Facebook.com/pages.
• Facebook will lead you through a simple number of steps to create the Fan Page for your business or organization.
• Once you’ve set up the page, added your organization’s profile picture and filled out the basic info — start loading up some content on your page wall. Do you have any new or upcoming specials, discounts or events? Put them up on your wall.
• Now, use the provided button to start suggesting your page to friends. That’s the easiest and quickest way to jump-start your Facebook page.
• When your friends join your business Fan Page, your friends’ friends will see this and start joining. It’s the ultimate in viral, word-of-mouth marketing.
• Every so often, you can then ask your fans to invite more of their fans.
• Keep feeding your page with compelling content — and watch your network grow.

Don’t get hung up on the sheer number of fans or supporters you have on your fan page. The key is to have a network that is relevant to your business.

For example, if you’re a small storefront cheese shop in a rural town in Georgia, having a following of 2,000 people from around the country may not matter (unless you sell your cheese online.) If you have a Facebook following of 100 local people that can form a foundation of a loyal customer base — that’s gold.

Remember all the content that you used to include in your long, weekly, e-newsletter? Start putting it up on Facebook. This is where you can put pictures from your events or “insider” news. People who join your network Facebook are more likely to want this information, and not be offended by seeing this information on their Facebook news feed.

The key to your Facebook efforts is the status update. When you provide a status update — everybody in your network will see it. The same goes for video and photos that you post on your page. It’s the ultimate in opt-in marketing because everybody has chosen to be your fan, which means they have opted-in to receive your updates.

The next step in maximizing your Facebook presence is utilizing Facebook ads — a tool which we deal with the final chapter of this booklet.

Following are some good Facebook pages to check out. These aren’t high-profile corporations — rather, they are small, local businesses that I follow who are providing value to their customers and marketing to new ones:

• Morris Athletic Club (Morris, IL):  As you can see from this Facebook page, their content strategy rests on providing regular fitness facts to their followers. This keeps their page fresh in the minds of their followers — drawing people to the page to find more about updates, new fitness classes, hours of operation, etc.

• United Linen and Uniform Services (Bartlesville, OK): If a linen and uniform services company can market on Facebook, so can you! As you can see from their Facebook page, they’re not focused so much on attracting new customers, as they are on providing value to their existing customers through helpful online video.

• Union League Club of Chicago (Chicago, IL):  This 120-plus-year-old membership club in Chicago uses Facebook to keep its members updated on key events and updates. It also allows members to comment and network with other members, post photos of club events, etc. Another value added benefit of club membership.

These are just a few good examples of how small businesses and organizations are using Facebook to their benefit. We urge you to surf around Facebook, see what other businesses are doing well, learn from them, and start building your network right away.